The invitation delivered last night was remarkably simple, especially given the importance of the occasion:
“Start where it all began. Meet us at the Pig’s Paunch one hour before dawn.”
The Pig’s Paunch is a run-down building with a faded sign of a large pig standing on its hind legs, arms folded above a corpulent belly. Inside, the air is thick with the scents of human sweat, stale tobacco, and leftover food. In the center of the room, surrounded by inebriates sleeping off their revelries, a familiar elven man stands high upon top of a large round table. “Welcome! Welcome, my friends! Please, have a seat!” With that, Kreighton Shaine, the Pathfinder Society’s Master of Scrolls, nimbly drops down to sit cross-legged on the table before looking about the tavern with a sense of reverent wonder. “Can you believe it? It all started here years ago—well, over four hundred of them at least. Under this very roof the Pathfinder Society was born." Shaine studies the room wistfully for a moment before continuing.
“But today! Today you will begin your Confirmation! Master Farabellus, Master Zey, and I all agree you each have shown your worth and dedication to the Society, so there’s no better time to see if you can handle becoming full field operatives. Allow me to introduce you to Janira Gavix,” he says as he motions for an excitable halfling woman to approach. She wears a large backpack and carries all manner of tools, pouches, and scroll cases around her waist. Shaine continues, saying, “Janira here will be going with you on your Confirmation. She was one of my brightest pupils and will no doubt be an invaluable resource on your journey, for she discovered the caves you are about to explore during her own Confirmation.”
Janira speaks up in an enthusiastic and cheerful voice, “Greetings, aspiring Pathfinders! Six months ago, while I was mapping cave entrances in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts, I witnessed a lone gillman entering a concealed cave. I thought little of it at the time, but I saw another one enter the cave again a month later as my Confirmation stretched on. A few days later, after I completed my assigned task, I entered the cave system, but was unable to find the gillmen.”
Master Shaine hops to his feet. “Initiates, for your Confirmation, you will travel to these caves to explore and document its many passages. Additionally, and most importantly, you are to learn what the gillmen are up to in there. Oh, and you need to come back alive as well.” With these parting words, the Master of Scrolls jumps off the table and strolls out of the building while humming to himself, as Janira turns her attention to your group, waiting for any questions.
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Celentria appears to almost float across the floor as she enters the room. Her silver hair seems to glisten in the sun and her eyes look grey will flecks of silver in them.
"Greetings Janira, I am Celentrai. I can hardly wait to get started. Is this cave far, have to seen any monsters on the way, what kind of monsters have you fought?"
suddenly realizing she is getting carried away she quiets down
"Sorry I guess I am a little excited." she says quite embarrassed.
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Behind Celentria comes a tall, slender humanoid. The delicate tracery of scales on his exposed arms and face, together with his slit-pupiled eyes and forked tongue, betray a heritage most would reject. During the briefing he sits rigidly upright on the edge of the hard wooden bar bench, clearly not happy to be in that particular setting and alert for hostility from all around him. In a deep and rough voice, he adds, "Janira. I am Rhu Entekh." He then waits expectantly for the halfling's reply, reaching casually over to keep the cased longbow next to him from falling as it shifts.
At the center of the Isle of Kortos stand the Kortos Mounts, the points on the island.
Entire tribes of centaurs, harpies, and minotaurs constantly vie for territory up and around the Mounts, with harpies being the most common at higher altitudes and centaurs controlling the lower slopes and foothills.
Also known as the Low Azlanti, the gillmen are an amphibious humanoid race believed to be the last descendants of the ancient Azlanti people.
During Earthfall, the Starstone struck Golarion and destroyed the human empires of Thassilon and Azlant. It is said that gillmen’s ancestors survived the cataclysmic event because they received the blessing of an aquatic entity that allowed them to breath underwater.
Most scholars believe the terrifying aboleths were responsible for the gillmen’s transformation. Any alliance between them appears to have fallen apart over the millennia, however, and the gillmen are now an independent people.
Janira is very exited about the mission and as you make your way out of the Grand Lodge she chats constantly with an eager grin. “After reviewing my mission reports personally, Master Shaine thought it no coincidence that each time they entered the caves it was during a full moon, so it is also no coincidence that you were called now, just a day before the moon is full again. We both believe that tomorrow night is our best chance to find out why these caves are important and what exactly the gillmen are doing in there."
“The caves we’ll be travelling to lie under the base of the Kortos Mounts. We’ll need to spend every minute of daylight possible to reach the caves by foot, crossing over the Cairnlands, taking the paths to Diobel, and finally making our way through the wilderness. With any luck we won’t run into any of the local inhabitants."
“What inhabitants, you ask? Well, the area we’re heading to is controlled by a large centaur tribe. If we cross paths with any of them, they’ll see horses as an affront and might become dangerously unfriendly, which is why we are traveling by foot. Remember, our mission is to explore the caves and investigate the gillmen activity, not fight the local populace."
"The areas farther up the Mounts are controlled by minotaurs, and the icy peaks are home to tribes of harpies. They’re always vying for territory, but we aren't treading too close to their territory, so we should be able to avoid them and reach the caves without conflict.” Janira ponders a moment. "Of course, there’s always the chance we may run into bandits along the way, and there are dozens of kinds of predators in that forest, but that’s why we should always be as prepared as possible.” Janira smiles, trying not to scare any new recruits.
"Once in the caves, we’ll need to work together to explore and determine whether any gillman are present or have been recently. Keep an eye out for any other clues that might hint at the caves’ significance, too.”
Within the city, Janira offers a few suggestions to those interested in purchasing adventuring gear. "Rope is probably a good idea, a light source, food, a way to make fire, any sources of healing. Additionally, if you can afford it, alchemist’s fire, antitoxins, and the like. Last, but not least, as a Pathfinder you need to report your findings, and do so accurately. If you need them, please take these." She passes out writing supplies and paper to anyone who doesn’t have it already.
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"I believe I can help with several of those items. I have rope, flint& steel and I can create a light on any item when needed so we will have a source of light."
Celentrai smiles happy she can already make a contrabution to the group.
"I suppose I should pick up one alchmist fire. Its all I can afford but it is better than nothing I guess"
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Ho! Ho! We got another comedian on our hands. Make that four pig's paunches, barkeep! Stag pulls two stoppered bottles from his pack and opens them before setting them on the table. The smell of strong alcohol wafts through the air.
Gotta get me drink on now that I'm away from that blasted teetotaller. Stag leans back and grabs four mugs from the bar and slams em on the table. Let's drink, mates!
After a quick drink Janira hustles the group from the bar and leads you out of the city. Moving along at a brisk pace, Janira seems energized. "When I was in training, we students used to head out into the Cairnlands to an abandoned siege tower called Asad's Keep. Many a recruit have some memorable adventure there." She says wistfully. "After a time, the area was nearly cleared of anything of interest, so now the Society has the recruits range a little further out."
Janira continues like this throughout the journey, with an unfettered enthusiasm, pointing out local landmarks, flora and fauna, and distant mountains. The journey through the Cairnlands is uneventful and after a full day's travel, the party stops and makes camp.
Rising the next morning, the party begins travelling westward again, hiking throughout the day. As the day begins to lengthen, the party progresses deeper into the forest, the trees towering overhead begin to shield most of what remains of the day’s sun and the vegetation beneath grows denser. Janira pauses a moment and pulls out an intricate silver compass emblazoned with the Pathfinder Society logo: the Glyph of the Open Road. “I received this wayfinder when I successfully completed my Confirmation. Should we be successful on our journey, you will get your own as well.” She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid.
After studying the compass inside for a moment, she remarks, “We’re on the right path. We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead.”
As you start to push on you suddenly hear the sounds of growling and spot a dog glaring at you from near the rocks to the north. Then barking alerts you to a second dog coming in from the south. They look wild, mean, very hungry, and perhaps rabid!
INITIATIVE
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Rhu attempts to put a pair of arrows into one of the dogs, but the first misses in the brush and the second slips off the string and falls at his feet. His studied asceticism dissolves as his face contorts in rage.
-Posted with Wayfinder
One dog races at Krysanthemum, dodging her attack and biting at her heels.
The second shivers from Celentrai's ray, then charges her.
"Argh! Who let their dogs out! I'm sure we can handle this. Put them down Pathfinders!" Janira begins a rousing speech, bolstering the courage of your small group.
Rhu downs one of the dogs with a well-aimed arrow and Krysanthemum clobbers the second with her staff.
"All right, good work! Looks like you are all very well prepared for this." Janira applauds your group and moves to check on Celentrai. "You get bitten? I have a wand for that. I suggest everyone acquire one of their own at first chance - saved a few lives with it I have. Anyway, no time to waste. Let's keep moving."
Your small party continues on through the wilderness. However, a bit of bad luck finds you when a trail is blocked by a rock-slide, and a shortcut known to Janira is discovered to be overgrown since her last trip through. These minor delays are costing you time, and Janira asks if anyone has some survival skills that might help speed things along.
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"Wait, I'm almost-" The little halfling stops short when he sees the group of tieflings standing about their slain foe. "Oh. . . I, uh. . . nice to meet you all!" I think they put me with the wrong group. "I'm Skip Flaxseed! Some of you may have heard of my father, Trotter: Venture-Captain of Cassomir. . . well, one of the Venture-Captains, that place seems to breed them like. . . well, never mind. Good to meet you all!" Skip is bouncing up and down on his bare feet in excitement. He carries a brand new scroll in each hand, with a handful of scroll tubes lining his belt.
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Well met young Flaxseed! I believe the leader of the Bold Striders is a frequent guest of the Flaxseed Lodge. I, myself, have yet to grace its halls. Between Karu and Sensei, they don't let us get out much. Stag pulls a wineskin out of his backpack and takes a deep swig. He offers it to the halfling.
The newest Bold Strider kicks the boulder. There might be a path nearby, but we could always just break the thing. I gotta have some extra black powder here somewhere...
Stag climbs up a tree and spots a path not too far ahead that leads in the right direction. The dense forest soon opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff with thick vines stretching 30 feet overhead.
“Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.” As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth.
The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!” As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group. Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’ capabilities, Janira screams, “A minotaur! I know you guys are tough, but I don't think we can handle this. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling off her backpack, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!”
She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.
With Janira running off at a magically-enhanced pace and the other junior Pathfinders following her instructions to enter the cave, Stag the Bold Strider finds himself standing alone at the entrance.
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Well... I hope she can handle herself. Got an interesting bunch here. Stag shrugs and walks into the cave.
He announces to the party. Bold Striders have only two rules. First, you must always be in the front leading with boldness! Second, you never leave a compatriot behind... I mean unless they want to duel it or something. Karu was telling me about this one time he duelled an Oni in Nagajor over in Tien Xia. It sounded pretty awesome. I mean can you imagine going toe-to-toe with an Oni? By yourself?!
Stag keeps regaling the group with his stories as he takes the lead moving through the tunnels of the cave system. He holsters his blunderbuss under his long jacket before idly double-checking the greatsword strapped to his back.
Heading inside, you find yourselves in a damp narrow passage that snakes into the mountain, opening and closing in width from three to ten feet. Water drips from stalactites and the sound of a rushing underground stream can be heard somewhere in the distance. The cave walls are patterned with blue-green luminescent fungi that provide dim light.
Petroglyphs—most depicting marine animals or spiral shapes—periodically decorate the tunnels’ walls. The rough surface of the carvings provides a natural platform for the fungi, causing it to grow thicker and making the carvings glow slightly brighter than their surroundings.
The carvings continue along the narrow tunnel as it twists and turns. Several hundred feet in it opens to a wider passage. There, a large hole spans the cave’s width and stretches 10 feet down the path and is 10 feet deep. Spikes line the bottom and draped over some is a small bundle of cloth.
The pit turns out to be tougher to climb then Rhu expects. The rounded edges make getting a handhold difficult and he scrambles for purchase for a few tense seconds before pulling himself back up.
With care, Rhu climbs down into the spiked pit and recovers the bundle, which turns out to be a fine cloak.
With Celentrai's rope as a safety line the group can easily cross the pit.
Skip confirms the cloak is magical, but cannot determine its properties.
Rhu heads back and recovers Janira's pack. Inside are all sorts of useful supplies. A potion of barkskin, 2 potions of cure light wounds, potion of feather step, potion of vanish, scroll of entangle, scroll of gust of wind, scroll of identify, scroll of mage armor (CL 6), scroll of obscuring mist, wand of burning hands (CL 3rd, 4 charges), wand of cure light wounds (CL 3rd, 8 charges), a vial of acid, an alchemist’s fire, holy water, smokestick, tanglefoot bags, thunderstone, antitoxin, and 2 sunrods. All are packed neatly and conveniently labeled.
With a little care the group crosses the pit and continues.
The tunnels lead deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls. The carvings here are different in style from the petroglyphs found elsewhere in the caves.